Entering the Unknown
by Malec Obsessed 17
Summary: Noah goes to Maddie for advice, she gives it to him and then Luke walks in. Last chapter now up.
1. Chapter 1

I had decided that I was going to stay in Oakdale while my father was, yet again, moved onto a different base. I didn't know why I wanted to stay here, but I felt as if I needed to, that there was some force that was pulling me towards it. Or maybe it was the fact that my father didn't know that I was gay. Yeah, that one was probably it.

As I walked down the road I was still thinking about why I couldn't tell my father about who I was born to be, why is it so hard? Almost all my friends knew, so why couldn't I bring myself to tell him? Oh yes, because I was convinced that he would hate me.

"Noah! Wait up." I turned around as I heard my name being yelled. I turned to see that it was Maddie, my best friend, the one that helped me come to grips with who I am. (To be honest, I even tried to get her to go out with me so that I had something to convince my dad that I wasn't gay. But she seemed to know better and she even got me to admit that I was gay.) "Geez Noah, I've been yelling at you for the last block and a half! What's on your mind? You upset about your dad being transferred?" she asked.

"Yes and no," I told her. "Yes because I won't be able to see for some time now and no because now, I'm free to be who I really am. And that means I'm finally free to look for someone who can love me back. Ha ha."

Maddie was looking around, I guess trying to think of something to say or trying to compose herself. I kind of hurt her when I was finally was able to come out to her, but she stuck next to me the whole time, never leaving me when I needed her the most. "Noah?" she said.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"Do think that Casey ever thinks about me in prison? I mean, how could he? I was told that he didn't want any calls from me. What am I supposed to do with that information? Does he expect me to just move on with my life?" she asked in one giant breath.

So this is what was bothering her. That idiot Casey, giving up the one person who could have loved him unconditionally, no matter what stupid mistake that he did! I was getting angrier by the thought. So I turned to Maddie and told her, "If that moron doesn't want to talk to you, then it's his loss, not yours. Personally, I think he only did it so that you could move on with your life, he didn't want to be the reason that you were alone until he gets out."

I could see how my words were calming her down, not to mention myself, so I pressed on. "And if that is what he wants for you then I say that you move on, find yourself a great guy and just get back in the game!"

She turned to look at me fully. "You know what? You're right Noah. Why should I sit around wondering about what can never be? I should move on with my life and see what lies ahead! And if the perfect guy drops by then all the better for me," she said, energetically.

-x- In Java

When Maddie looked well enough to go out I suggested we go out for coffee and scope out the eligible men here in Oakdale, straight and gay.

We sat in our usual corner in Java, no one ever bothered to sit here because Maddie and I had been coming here so often since we had been in high school. We had only been sitting there for about 15 minutes when this guy came in. He was the most beautiful thing that I had laid eyes on. His dirty blond hair and his lean body, and when I finally reached his face, I seen the warmest chocolate brown eyes in the world. He was a complete stranger and I was already falling for the stupid guy. I didn't even know if he was gay or not. (And with my luck, he was most likely straight.) I had to make sure to think as if he was straight, so I would not get my hopes up too much. And that would mean that, once again, Maddie would be the one to get him.

Girls (and straight men, of courses) just have it too easy: they can meet someone practically anywhere! We had to worry about offending people and that meant, really, the only place to meet someone, to know for sure, was at a bar. I finally turned away from the amazing looking stranger to see that Maddie was looking as well. "See something that interests you as well?" I asked.

"Umm… yeah I guess that I did," she responded. "Was it that obvious I was staring at the blond that just walked in? And did you say 'as well?'"

I guess I should have humored her and told her that if I wasn't so close to her I would have never seen her trying to look without looking. Ha. "Of course it was obvious; you've only had drool on you for the past two minutes is all." I couldn't resist that one. What with how many times she had seen me looking at a guy that I knew that I couldn't get.

The gorgeous stranger was beginning to turn towards the tables, having just got a coffee. I noticed that he had an application in the other hand that had to mean he was new to Oakdale. Which would explain why I had never seen him before, and believe me I would have remembered seeing this man before.

The next thing I know, Maddie is getting up. It looked to me as if she was going over to talk to the new guy in town. I ask, "Where do you think you're going?"

"To go talk to him. Is that a problem?" she asked.

I was silent for a minute, having to think of my answer. Did I want her going out with a guy I was so obviously attracted to? Or should I be the one to go up to him and see if he is gay? Or a third option, ask Maddie to see if he is gay and if he's not, let her have him? The last option was what I would be going with of course, I was still nervous about putting myself out there when it came to going out with men.

"No," I said. "But I do have a favor to ask of you."

"And that would be?"

"Well," I began. "Do you think you could go over and see if you could get a vibe about the new guy and see if he's gay or not?" Maddie was smiling from ear to ear. "I mean," I continued, quickly, "so that you don't get hurt when you get attached too quickly again. Like the last couple of guys you have dated."

"Oh, I see. It's only so that I don't get hurt. Well… in that case I guess that I could do that for you," she informed me

What did you think? Should I continue or no?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**Luke's POV (from the point of him coming into Java and seeing Maddie looking at him)**

I looked down at my worn watch to see what time it was, it couldn't be that late because I just got out of my class. It was only 1:45 p.m. I wanted some coffee and knew there were only a few good places in town for the good coffee so I decided to go to Java's.

As I entered Java's I noticed two people sitting in the corner talking quietly and looking around at those around them. I went up to the counter and ordered my coffee, black of course. As I turned around, that was when I saw him. He was absolutely perfect, his face, his hair, his… everything. What was I thinking? How can I be thinking like this about another man? I quickly looked over the girl that was sitting next to him. She looked to be my type. Maybe today would turn out okay after all.

I paid for my coffee and went to the table nearest the two that I saw earlier. I was hoping to get their attention, though I didn't know how to go about doing that. But when the girl that was sitting next to one of the most gorgeous men I had ever seen looked over at me I knew I had her because she had not looked away for a few minutes. I decided to wait a few more minutes to go over to them.

Just as I was about to get up I heard a chair scrap against the tiled floor and knew that I had missed my chance. But luck should have it; it was a different table behind me. I turned to look at them and they seemed to be in deep conversation over something. I figured now was my time to go up and talk to the girl sitting to the most dazzling man I have ever laid eyes upon.

I pushed my chair back, picked up my cup and proceeded to walk over to their table. "Hello, my name is Luke Snyder." They both looked up to see who was talking to them and their mouths hung open as they seen it was me, at least that is what I told myself.

"Hi, my name is Noah and this is my friend Maddie," he said. As soon as I heard him speak I knew I would be able to fall for this man that I didn't even know. I refused to let myself think this way, I was not supposed to have feelings for another man!

I quickly turned my head and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you Noah and Maddie."

"And you as well, Luke. Did you just move here?" Maddie asked.

"Yes," I replied. "I moved here from New York. My parents wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city life. And they stumbled across this place. I really didn't want to come here. You see, my school back in New York was small and we had all planned on going to the same college in New York. But that kind of feel through thanks, in part, to me," I finished.

"So, it's really not that different from here in Oakdale," Maddie informed me. "Everyone from our high school is going to Oakdale U," she said.

I was getting tired of Maddie talking all the time. I wanted to hear what Noah had to say. There had to be a way to break the silence of this man…

"Noah?" I asked.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"What is it that you are going to college for?" I asked.

"I want to be a director, something to do with black and white films," he said.

He sounded so sure about what he wanted to do in life. And where am I? I had no idea. I knew I wanted to do something I writing but… as I was thinking I finally realized that Maddie was asking me a question.

"So, Luke, what are you majoring in?" Maddie asked.

"I have wanted to major in writing… but I'm not sure if it should be for a paper or something else," I said.

By now at least an hour had passed and we had been talking for at least an hour, that is to say that Maddie and I have been talking… Noah not so much.

I decided that I should go due to the fact that I needed to meet up with some people from my class. But Noah beat me to it. "I need to get going. Sorry… but I have a paper that is due tomorrow," he informed me. He turned to walk out and stopped as he reached the door looking back at me and Maddie, I guessed to see if she was going to go with him. "You coming Maddie?" he asked her.

"You go on ahead. I wanna ask Luke something." I turned to look at the stunning girl and seen her smiling at me… What was it that she wanted to ask me of all people?

"Ok, Maddie. I'll talk to you later." He was turning to go and I seen him smile, I had never seen anyone so… No I can't think like that. I wanted to be with someone like Maddie. Yes, a girl like Maddie. I should ask her out. As I turned to Maddie, she started talking, "Luke…"

"What is it Maddie?" I asked after she had been quite for awhile.

She again turned to me and looked into my eyes "I was wondering if you would want to go out with me this Friday night?"

I was kind of surprised that she was the one to ask me out. She didn't really seem like that type of girl to me… but I guess I don't ready people that well. "I… um…" I didn't know what to say. "Sure Maddie. I'll go out with you this Friday," I told her.

"Ok, I'll call you later this week to tell you where to pick me up," she informed me.

She turned to leave and I was left there looking like an idiot, my mouth was left agape. Had I really just agreed to go on a date with Maddie? What was I thinking? But who knows, maybe this would turn out to be a good thing. Maybe my date with a girl would turn out to be just what I need. That is if I can manage to get the other one out of my head while I'm with Maddie…

**I know this chapter was kind of long and pointless but I needed get to the point of Maddie and Luke's date. The next will still be almost all about Luke and Maddie but after that it will be Luke and Noah. I promise. Hope you liked this chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 3

**Luke's point of view (starting off with Noah and Luke realizing they have a class together)**

Today was already Tuesday, Monday having already come and gone. I guess having your classes spread out through the day makes all the difference.

I entered my English class, and as I turned to go to sit down the first person I saw was Noah. He hadn't realized that I was standing there yet; I couldn't take my eyes off of him. Whenever I looked at him nothing ever made sense, nothing seemed to have meaning. How can one person make me feel like this? And not to mention a guy at that!

I decided to go over and sit next to him. As I sat down, Noah was still looking out the window. I wondered what he was thinking about… could it possibly be me.

It was awhile before he realized that someone was next to him. After what seemed like hours to me, he finally turned to see who was beside him. I had to remind myself to breathe when he smiled at me. "Hi," I managed to say.

"Hello." He seemed to be confused. Was it possible he forgot who I was? We never did talk to each other the other night.

"I'm Luke, remember? From the other night, we meet at Java…" This just seemed to confuse him more. "We sat together while Maddie and I talked most of the time… Ring any bells?" I mean how can someone forget someone else so quickly?

"Sorry, I don't know what you are talking about…" I guess it is possible for people to forget that quickly.

"That's okay. I'll just introduce myself then. I'm Luke and you're Noah right?"

"Yup, that's me." He looked at me as if I was a crazy person, and maybe I was. I didn't know anymore…

The rest of class passed in a blur. Noah hardly spoke the rest of class, but I had expected that, since he couldn't remember me, although I got the feeling that he remembered me more than he wanted to.

The rest of the week went by in a haze, me continuing to steal glances at Noah and then going onto my next class, unable to get him out of my head. He actually started talking to me one day, not that he had much of a choice as the professor instructed us to get to know the person on our right. That was the most I heard him talk since I had met him.

It was already Thursday and this was the night Maddie was supposed to call and tell me where to meet her for our date, which I was regretting more and more every minute of every day.

My cell phone started to vibrate in my pocket and I knew that it was Maddie without even looking at the number. "Hey Maddie," I said.

"Hey Luke, what's up?"

"Nothing much, just trying to write my paper for English class."

"I just talked to Noah, that's what Noah is working on as well. You remember Noah, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't think he remembers me though…" I told her.

"What are you talking about? He's mentioned that you are in his English class…"

"Well, the first day that we had class he said he didn't know who I was." That's strange. Why would he tell me he didn't remember me when he was telling Maddie that he did? I didn't have time to dwell on this because Maddie was talking about our date.

"Well anyways, I was thinking that we could have dinner at Al's. My brother owns the place and that way we don't have to pay. He owes me anyways. You know where that's at right?" she asked.

"Yup, I pass it almost every day. I'll see you there tomorrow about 8, ok?"

"That works, seen you then Luke."

**The next day at Al's with Luke and Maddie on their date. **

Classes were over for the day and I had to get home and finish up my paper that was due on Monday, I didn't know what was going to happen after tonight. Hopefully something good.

By the time I was done with my paper it was already 7:30. I still had to get ready and get there before 8. I had plenty of time.

I arrived at Al's at 7:50, ten minutes to spare, but Maddie was already there sitting at a table waiting for me.

She looked up from the table and seen me through the window and waved, I waved back.

I suddenly felt as if all this was wrong, that I should be here with someone else, as to who that was I had no idea… did I?

"Hi, Luke. How are you?" Maddie asked.

"I'm fine. How about you?" I asked in return.

"I'm doing well, I guess," she informed me.

She didn't look like she was doing well at all. She looked as if someone had died today or something. "Maddie what is it?"

"Oh, well…" she paused, uncertain if she could trust me I guessed.

"Maddie, you can tell me anything. I could never judge you for what you tell me, I promise." I needed to make sure she could tell me anything.

"It's just Noah," she said. My breath caught in my throat, I had trouble catching what she said next. "He hasn't been out with anyone for awhile now and every time that I suggested that he double with us he would get offensive and go sulk in his room. He won't tell me what's wrong."

Why did she have to bring up Noah of all people? It just isn't fair. "Well, maybe he fell for some girl and doesn't want to tell you? Or maybe…." She stopped me in mid-sentence.

"No, it's defiantly not over a girl. That I know for sure," she said. I noticed she had a funny look when she told me that.

"What is it? What is it that I missed?" I asked, pryingly.

"Well… it's really not my place to tell you, but…" she stopped and looked out window, debating on whether to tell me or not. "Noah is one for the girls if you know what I mean," she said.

"What?" I asked. I was more confused now than ever.

She gave me a look as if to say _how slow are you?_ "Luke, he's gay," she said.

The moment the word was out of her mouth everything fell into place. Noah pretending not to know me on the first day of classes, him not talking that much at Java, it all made sense. But can someone really fall that fast for someone? What am I saying? I did.

"Luke, are you alright? You don't have a problem with gay people do you? Because if you d…"

I interrupted her mid-sentence. "Of course not, why would I?"

"I don't know. But some people can't handle the fact that there are gays in the world. But I say that you need to be who you are and not conform to the everyday thinking that you should be "normal". You know?"

I couldn't agree with her more. "How can people be so dimwitted? No one deserves to be discriminated for who they are."

Apparently, she didn't want to talk about it anymore. "It's getting late. Do you mind dropping me off at my dorm? I don't feel like walking back tonight," she said.

"Sure," I said.

**Back at Maddie's dorm after their date.**

The drive back to the dorms was not that long; it only took about ten minutes. I walked her to the door, and she turned to look at me.

"Thanks for taking me out tonight Luke. It meant a lot. I haven't been out for a long time now," she whispered.

"I had a good time tonight. Make sure you tell your brother thanks for treating me," I told her.

"It was no problem. I'll talk to you later Luke. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Maddie." I said.

I was half way to my car when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see who it was and I turned to see Maddie there. "Maddie? What are you doing?"

"I wanted to try something is all," she informed me.

I knew what was happening before she even told me. I hadn't really planned on doing this so soon. I needed more time to think.

She was leaning in closer to me. She stopped a few inches away from me. I guess she wanted me to lean in the rest of the way. I didn't want to, that much I knew for certain. She must have decided she didn't want to wait for me; she leaned the rest of the way in and planted her lips on mine.

Something was off, this wasn't right, it didn't feel right. I pushed her off of me. The look of shock on her face was painful for me to look at. "I'm sorry. I… I can't, I'm sorry. It just doesn't feel right to me," I explained.

"Ok, that's good. I thought I was just me," she said.

My mouth fell open. I didn't know what to say. "What?"

"Well, to be honest, I was surprised that you agreed to go on a date with me when I asked. What with the way you kept looking at Noah the night that we meet," she was smiling now.

"I… I… I didn't think that anyone noticed. I didn't realize until now that I was actually interested in Noah," I said.

"Well, now is your chance to go and tell him. He's at his dorm working on his paper for English."

"Ok, I'll head there now." I turned to leave but stopped. "Maddie?"

"Yeah Luke?" she asked?

"Thank you," I said.

"For what?" she asked.

"For everything," I told her. She seemed to understand. I turned and went to my car heading to Noah's dorm to tell him how I really feel. Hopefully he would feel the same.

I raced down the road to get to the building that held his dorm room hoping that he was still there.

I arrived outside his door five minutes after I had left Maddie's. I ran to the door and knocked. I stood there waiting and hoping that he would answer the door, but there was a part of me hoping that he wouldn't.

I heard moving on the other side of the door and heard the lock turning over to unlock it. Noah opened the door and had a look of astonishment on his face. "Luke? What are you doing here? I thought you had a date with Maddie," he said.

"I did. It got cut short. Do you mind if I come in? I need to talk to you," I told him.

"Sure, Luke. Is Maddie ok?" he asked.

"Yeah, she's fine. I just wanted to talk to you," I said.

"Well, I'm here. So what is it that you wanted to talk about?"

I opened my mouth to talk and nothing would come out. God, why was this so hard?

"What is it Luke? You can tell me anything. You'll find I'm pretty open-minded about most things."

"Noah, I think… I think that I might like you," I said. There it was out, that wasn't so bad I thought. Now to see how he would react.

**This is the second chapter for today. This one was written pretty quickly. I like but you should review and tell me what you think**

**Next time **

**-Noah responds to what Luke has told him**

**-It's not exactly what Luke was hoping for**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 2-3

**This is the last two chapters, but condensed and from Noah's POV. It starts of right before Luke has sat down with Maddie and Noah in Java.**

Maddie was getting ready to get up and head on over to the guy's table, but he was already getting up from his table. I thought to myself that I had lost my chance to, maybe, get a good looking guy for myself for once.

It turned out he was only coming over to sit next to our table. Maybe he was actually he for me: to talk to me, to ask me out, to… I don't know… anything. No, I wouldn't let my imagination get out of hand, it wasn't worth the aggravation. No guy was.

When I seen him walking over here, turned back to Maddie to tell her that "her guy" was coming this way. She said, "He _could_ be coming over here to ask you out…"

By now he was already at our table waiting for us to look up and acknowledge him. We both looked up at the same time. He decided to introduce himself. "Hello, my name is Luke Snyder," he said. He voice was so amazing, simply perfect.

I realized, probably too late at that point, that mouth was left wide open, staring at this man. I rushed to make up for this; "Hi, my name is Noah and this is my friend Maddie," I said.

He continued to look at me well after I introduced us. His head, very abruptly, shifted from me to Maddie and he said, "It's a pleasure to meet you Noah and Maddie."

Maddie seemed to jump straight into a conversation that I didn't want to have. I wasn't about to get attached to someone that I knew wasn't gay. He was totally into Maddie. "And you as well, Luke. Did you just move here? I haven't seen you around Oakdale before…"

Yes," he replied. "I moved here from New York. My parents wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city life. And they stumbled across this place. I really didn't want to come here. You see, my school back in New York was small and we had all planned on going to the same college in New York. But that kind of feel through thanks, in part, to me," he said.

"So, it's really not that different from here in Oakdale," Maddie informed him. "Everyone from our high school is going to Oakdale U," she said.

Maddie seemed to be leading the conversation and that was fine with me. But now it seemed, Luke wanted to talk to me. Probably just to impress Maddie, trying to show her that he could get along with all her friends before he asked her out. "Noah?" he asked.

"Yeah?" I replied. _Keep it to monosyllables, that way I keep myself from falling for a guy I can't have. _I could already see myself falling for this guy that I know absolutely nothing about. God, he could be a criminal for all I know, that ran here from New York to get away from the cops…

He continued on while I was daydreaming about him, "What is it that you are going to college for?"

No one word answers here, dang. "I want to be a director, something to do with black and white films." My voice sounded as if I wanted to talk now… Anytime someone brought up movies… it's my biggest weakness.

"So, Luke, what are you majoring in?" Maddie asked.

"I have wanted to major in writing… but I'm not sure if it should be for a paper or something else," he said.

Time was going much too slowly for me. But, finally, an hour had past and I figured that was a generous time to give to a complete stranger. "I need to get going," I said. "Sorry… but I have a paper that is due tomorrow," I announced. The paper was already finished, but I had to say something to get out of there. I started to get up and noticed that Maddie was still sitting down. "You coming Maddie?" I asked.

"In a minute. You go on ahead. I wanna ask Luke something," she said. That's what I had thought. She was going to ask him out. I couldn't contain the smile that came to my face. She didn't take her time when she saw something she wanted, that was for sure.

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**Noah and Maddie talking about Luke and how he agreed to taking Maddie out and what Noah thinks about it. **

I got back to my dorm a little after 8 that night, having gone and talked to some of my other friends. I had hoped Maddie was already here waiting for me to get to tell me if she was going out with Luke of if he turned her down. I was going with the former; I doubted that Luke would turn someone as amazing as Maddie down.

It was some time later that a knock came at the door and I knew it was Maddie coming to tell me what happened between the two of them. I got off my bed and headed to the door and opened it to let her in.

"Hey Noah. Did you get that paper done yet?" she asked.

"Yup. Had it done for awhile now. How did it go with Luke once I left?" I asked.

"Well….." she started. I waited for her to continue, but it seemed to me as if she didn't want to.

I knew it. He agreed to go on the date with her. "Come on Maddie. Tell me what happened, not to mention what you thought of him," I said.

"Ok. I asked him out and… he said he would take me out…" she told me. She flinched when she told me; I assume she did so because she was expecting me to do something.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing is wrong, it's just I didn't know what to expect. I mean this is the first guy that you have showed any interest in. And I didn't know how you were going to react," she said.

"Maddie, I'm sorry but this isn't my first crush. And it's not really my first crush on a guy," I told her.

Her mouth fell open, in shock. "What? You've never told me that."

"I know I didn't. When I realized that I had a crush on a man, a _man_, I could just imagine what my father would do to me. I mean, even the small things I did wrong were given severe punishment. And I knew that this would be even worse. So it's not something that I like to bring up. Not to mention that this guy was one of my closest friends so was already in too far and when I moved it was devastating to me," I told her. I had never told anyone that before. I had always kept it in. But then again, I never stayed in one spot for as long as I have here before.

"Noah…" she said. I could tell from her voice that she was trying to hold back tears, though it really wasn't working for her. I couldn't help it, I started laughing at her. That made her a little angry. "Why are you laughing at me? Here I am crying over something terrible that happened to you and you're _laughing_? What the hell, Noah?" she asked.

"I'm sorry. It's just that I should be the one in tears not you. It didn't happen to you so why cry over it?" I asked. I was so confused by her behavior. It didn't make sense to be this upset over something that occurred so long ago and especially over someone like me…

"Because, no one should have to go through anything like that in their life," she told me.

"Maddie back on subject. What did you think of Luke?" I asked. I had to know. What Maddie thinks means the world to me for one, and for two she is almost always right about people.

"Well, to be honest, I thought he was coming over to talk to you, not to me. And the thing was, when you weren't talking, it seemed to me as if he went out of his way to get you to talk. I guess I was really of base with this one. We have a date later this week… Is that ok? Because I won't go if you don't want me to…" she said.

"No, Maddie it's fine. Don't worry about me so much, you'll only gray sooner," I said. Though on the inside it was killing me to say this, I knew that if Maddie could find happiness, then who was I to deny her that?

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**Noah sees Luke in his class **

This was only our second week of classes and people were still fixing their schedules to get the classes that they know they want.

I was sitting down when I turned towards the door and seen _him_. Luke was standing next to the door looking around for, I guessed, someone that he knew. It seemed he had seen me and decided to come over and sit next to me.

He came over next to the desk and I was determined to try and ignore him, but I guess that didn't work for him. "Hi," he said.

Well, if he was going to talk to me I guess I could pretend not to know him. I knew I was being vain but I really didn't fell like falling for such an amazing guy that was unavailable. He was more than unavailable he was straight. And, at the moment, didn't want to get hurt again. "Hello," I said in my most confused voice I could muster.

"I'm Luke, remember? From the other night, we meet at Java…" I was determined not to show how well I did remember that night. "We sat together while Maddie and I talked most of the time… Ring any bells?" he asked.

Sorry, I don't know what you are talking about…" Man was he persistent. Nothing I did seemed to make him shut up.

"That's okay. I'm Luke Snyder and you're Noah right?" he asked.

"Yup, that's me," I told him. Maybe if I kept this up he would give it up and leave me alone.

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**Luke and Maddie are on their dates and Noah is at his dorm, thinking about Luke.**

It was already Friday night, 10:30 to be exact. Luke and Maddie's date should be wrapping up soon. At least I hoped it was. Maddie was known to move to fast in relationships…

I was just finishing up my paper when I heard a knock at the door. I assumed it was Maddie. She must have had a good time tonight if she couldn't even wait until tomorrow to talk about how it went.

When I opened the door, I was shocked when it opened and revealed Luke standing in the frame. "Luke? What are you doing here? I thought you had a date with Maddie," I said.

"I did. It got cut short. Do you mind if I come in? I need to talk to you," he told me.

"Sure, Luke. Is Maddie ok?" I asked. He came in and I shut the door behind him, wondering what he could possibly want to talk to me about.

"Yeah, she's fine. I just wanted to talk to you," he said.

"Well, I'm here. So what is it that you wanted to talk about?"

He opened my mouth to talk and then… nothing. He must have stood there for a good minute before I said anything.

"What is it Luke? You can tell me anything. You'll find I'm pretty open-minded about most things."

"Noah, I think… I think that I might like you," he said.

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**So personally, I hate this chapter. I couldn't really think about what I wanted Noah to be thinking while he was near Luke. But here is the chapter. I pretty much have the rest of the story figured out; I just need to put it into words… The next one should be up faster than this one.**

**Next Time:**

**-Noah reacts to Luke's confession**

**-It's not the reaction Luke was hoping for**

**(and this time it really will be his reaction, I promise)**


	5. Chapter 5

**This is Noah's reaction to Luke's confession. **

When Luke had shown up on my door step that night, hearing him say that he might like me was the last thing in the world that I thought I would be hearing.

I didn't know what to say, I was in shock. There were no words to explain how I felt at that particular moment. "Luke… I don't know what to say… Give me a minute here," I said.

"It's fine, Noah. Take all the time you need. It took me long enough to realize what I was really feeling," he said.

How was I supposed to handle this? How can he, all of a sudden, say that he has feelings for me? He went on a date with _Maddie_, of all people. I couldn't wrap my head around this, but I had a feeling that this wasn't real. I mean how many people change their minds that quickly?

"Luke, um… I don't know how to say this, but are you sure it is actual feelings for me or something else? Is it feelings for the unknown? Something to experiment with, because I'm not something you can toy with." It was irrational I know, but I just didn't add up. I mean take me for example; it took me months before I understood what I was feeling for another man. How can he change his mind so quickly and be 100 percent sure?

Luke looked somewhat taken aback by what I said. "What? You think I'm making this entire thing up? These feelings for you, I will admit, are unexpected, but I promise that they are real," he said.

He seemed so determined to convince me, but I wasn't going to be some experiment of his. That had already happened once and now there are things that I can never get back.

"Yes Luke, I think you believe you have these 'feelings' for me, but I'm not so sure. You agreed to date Maddie. I mean you hit on her while I was sitting right next to you!" I screamed.

He looked taken aback, like what I was saying was hurting him, but in reality he didn't know how much I wanted it to be true. It was just that I wasn't going to be used to see if he was gay or not. I deserved better than that.

"What? You remember? I thought you didn't know who I was?" he asked.

Well, guess I walked into that one. "It's just… it's just that I didn't feel like talking to you about Maddie and what you thought about her and all the crap that comes along with it," I said.

"I see. I guess that is what I would have done. I would have continued non-stop about what she likes and dislikes so that I would have a better chance with her," he replied. "But still, that gave you no right to treat me the way you have been!" he yelled.

He had a point there, no matter what was going on in my head, I had no right to treat him the way that I did. "I'm sorry Luke. It's just that I have been burned by so many people for being who I am and doing things my way and it starts to wear on you, you know?" I replied.

"Yeah, actually I do," he said. "When I was living back in New York, my parents expected me to graduate from high school and go right into working for the family business. But when I told my parents that I had decided to move away and go to college for a degree in writing, my dad lost it," he told me. "That's why I moved here, to get away from them, to do things my way," he finished.

"Luke… I'm so sorry," I said. Was I actually starting to feel sorry for this man? Was it compassion or something else entirely?

"It's not your fault Noah. Things just happen. But that's not why I am here; we are here because I have feelings for you Noah. Whether you believe me or not, I don't care, because I know deep down you know I'm telling the truth. And I don't care how long it takes to convince you, I'll keep trying," he said forcefully.

He was trying so hard to get me to believe him, and part of me wanted to, but the other half was saying, this was too good to be true. So I decided to go with the latter. "You know what Luke?" I asked.

"What Noah? Do you finally believe me?" he asked.

"Luke… Go to hell," I told him. As soon as it was out of my mouth I regretted saying it, but it was too late, it was already said and done.

"Noah…" he said. He was almost in tears. Maybe he did mean it; maybe he really did have feeling for me. "You don't really mean that, do you?" he asked.

I didn't know what to say to him. I know that I didn't mean it, but I didn't want him to be here anymore so I figured this would be the easiest way to get rid of him. "Luke… just go," I said.

He seemed hesitant to leave; he continued to stand there for another minute or two. He started for the door soon after that, but he stopped after he opened the door and looked back at me. He said, "Noah, if you want to talk about anything, I'll be here any time, just call me. I know you don't believe me, but it's true, I really do like you. A lot," he said. And with that he walked out and shut the door behind him.

As soon as the door was shut I feel onto the bed and didn't know what to do. There were no tears; there was no anger, just nothing. It was like this black hole came and sucked any emotion I could have been felling and had taken it away from me. And now, nothing. I didn't want to talk to Luke yet, because I knew I would have to apologize and that was something I didn't want to do.

I decided that who I really needed to talk to was Maddie, but it was already 11 so I guessed she was already in bed by now. It was all going to have to wait until the morning then.

I tried going to bed soon after Luke left, but I couldn't fall asleep. So I just sat on the edge of the bed, mulling over what I was going to do about Luke. I knew I was going to apologize but was I going to accept the fact that Luke had 'feelings' for me? I wasn't sure yet.

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**This chapter was somewhat easier to write. I don't know how I feel about this one. **

**Next time**

**Noah and Maddie talk about Luke**

**Luke goes to Maddie's as well**


	6. Chapter 6

I tried going to sleep for the next thirty minutes that night, and when no sleep came I knew I wasn't going to until I talked to someone about this. I knew the only person that would, hopefully, understand what going to be Maddie.

I got dressed and rushed over to Maddie's so I could talk this out and I needed to know what she thought about Luke.

I opened my door to leave and turned to lock the door before I left, and when I turned around I could have sworn that I seen something hide behind the wall. I didn't have time to think about, what with all my thoughts on Luke and Maddie.

It was only midnight when I arrived at Maddie's. I didn't know if she was going to be up still or not. I went up to her door and knocked lightly so that if she was asleep, I wouldn't wake her.

It only took her a few seconds to open the door and look at me with a look of surprise. "Noah? What are you doing here? Do you realize what time it is? And, to be honest, I didn't really expect to see you tonight of all nights," she said.

I was barely able to comprehend what she was saying. "Can I come in?" I asked.

"Um… sure, Noah. Are you alright?" she questioned.

I didn't know how to tell her what I said to Luke. How was she going to handle it? I was barely able to handle it myself. "Maddie, I did something tonight that I'm going to regret for the rest of my life. And I don't know what to do about it," I informed her.

"What are you talking about Noah? The last thing I knew was that Luke was going to come over and tell you how he really felt about you… What happened?"

My mind was in a thousand different places, but the scene from my dorm kept replaying in my head, over and over again. _Go to hell._ I didn't even mean it. I was just scared to admit how I really felt. "I told Luke to go to Hell. And I didn't even mean it! As soon as I said it I knew it was a mistake, but I told him I meant it and he walked out," I explained.

"You did what?! How could you do that to him? He was finally able to accept the fact that he had feelings for you! What kind of insolent dumbass does that?" she finished with.

I had not known what to expect when I had gone to Maddie's. It was most certainly not this, that's for sure. "Apparently, this kind of dumbass," I said.

"He came to you with this, and I thought you of all people would have been able to help him through something he hasn't fully come to grips with! I never would have sent him to you if I would have known how you would react! I mean really Noah!" she said, forcefully. She was screaming at a pretty high octave at this point. I was surprised that no one had come by to see what was going on.

"That is exactly why I acted the way I did. I wanted Luke to have some kind of feelings for me, it was painful. And if I allowed myself to open up to Luke and decide to let him in and then he decides that he never did have any feelings for me, where would that leave me? I am his experiment," I said.

"Sort of like I was yours, Noah?" she asked.

She had me there. I did use her to see if I was gay or not, though she didn't fall for it for a minute. "That was different," I said, trying, futilely, to convince myself it was.

She was giving me a horrifying look, one trying to say that I was full of it. "Oh, come on! You know that's a load of crap Noah. You can barely lie to yourself about this, let alone convince me," she yelled.

"Ok, you're right! The fact is I might even love the man, and I'm too blind to see it…" I said. It was all starting to become clearer. "How stupid am I?" I asked her.

At that moment I heard the door behind me open and a voice I knew too well asked, "Really? Do you really mean that?"

"What? Who… Luke?! What are you doing here?" I asked. Oh, no, God please don't let him have heard what I said. I would give anything for him to _not_ have heard that.

"Do you mean what you just said?" he asked again.

Damn, he did hear it. What was I going to do? Should I tell him the truth or not? I guess he deserved the truth, what with what I said last night. He deserved some honesty, and if I was being completely honest, so did I.

I opened my mouth to speak and nothing would come out. "Luke, I mean it more than either of us can possibly believe," I said, letting out a sigh when it was finally out in the open.

"It took you long enough! I mean I thought it would never get through your thick skull," Luke said.

How could he be so calm? He should be screaming at me, calling me every horrible word he could think of, something. So how was he so calm?!

"Luke… I'm… I'm…" I couldn't even tell him I was sorry, that would mean that I expected him to accept my apology and I knew he deserved so much more than that or me for that matter.

"Noah," he started. "Its fine, I completely understand. I really do, so there is nothing to apologize for. Okay? If I was in your shoes I would have done the same thing. For God shakes, I haven't even come out to my parents, let alone my friends. So I get that you don't want to get hurt again," he explained.

I was speechless. I couldn't think of anything to say. He really wasn't mad, maybe I still have a chance to be with Luke, what else could I lose if I would just ask? If I actually let myself feel what I wanted to feel?

"Luke?" I asked timidly.

"Yes?" he responded.

"Would you consider going on a date with me… say this Friday night at seven?" I asked.

"Well, I don't know…" he said.

Here it was the rejection I had been expecting since I meet him, the no that I been dreading to hear from him.

"Well, the thing is Noah, I have to go and see my family this weekend and I'm leaving Friday night," he said.

"Oh," was the only thing that would come out of my mouth. It wasn't something I was expecting to hear.

"But, I was wondering…" he said.

"What?" I asked, in a rushed voice.

"Well, would you consider going to New York with me this time? I mean just so that you could be there when I tell them," he said.

He wanted me to come to his parent's house to be there for him when he told his parents he was gay… I hadn't even done that with my own parents yet. What help could I be?

"Why? I haven't told my own family yet. What help would I be to you? And especially after the way I treated you?" I asked quickly.

"Because Noah, I like you. And I want someone I know who has gone through the same thing, well, almost the same thing," he told me with a laugh.

I didn't know what to say. I was more than shocked; I didn't know what I was. "Luke. That means so much to me. I would be happy to go with you if that's what you want," I said.

"Of course Noah, I wouldn't have asked otherwise. Now, to be honest, I don't think this will be all that fun of a trip, especially once I tell my parents, so this is your chance to get out of it now," he informed me.

I could not help but laugh at the thought. Me, at Luke's house, me near Luke period. It was what I had hoped for since I had met him at Java. "It's no problem Luke; just remember I'll be there for you the whole time."

"I'm counting on it Noah," he said.

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This is the end of this of this one.

Should there be a sequel or no? I have some ideas but I want you to tell me. Should i make a sequel to this one? And show Luke and Noah together and all the drama involved?


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